Commissioners OK new 911 center, hear sheriff's needs

Published: Wednesday, January 16, 2013 at 3:31 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, January 16, 2013 at 3:31 p.m.

Henderson County commissioners threw a lifeline to an outdated 911 center and heard an appeal from the sheriff for additional staff during their budget retreat Wednesday afternoon.

The board voted unanimously to proceed with hiring an architect to design a new emergency call center in the basement of the Sheriff’s Office.

Workers in the county’s call center, at 100 N. Grove St., contend with cracks and leaks and diminished security at the building while working with equipment past its prime, according to E911 Communications Director Lisha Corn.

The center has operated in the building for 16 years. At one time, its parking area was protected by a tall fence, she said, but now the lot is open to the public, raising safety concerns for staff. A disgruntled caller came to the lot around 3 a.m. one morning hoping to confront a telecommunicator, but was greeted by a deputy.

Corn said they also have issues with a door that sometimes fails to close and lock properly.

The department, which annually fields more than 199,000 calls and dispatches more than 124,000 calls for services, is manned by 19 employees in rotating 12-hour shifts. It currently operates in about 2,700 square feet.

David Whitson, assistant county manager, said the center is operating at “full capacity” with no room for growth in its current location. Additional personnel and workstations will be needed to meet state 911 Board requirements, he said, for call taking and dispatching efficiency.

E911 Management needs additional space in the Emergency Operations Center for training purposes and in order to more efficiently handle emergency incidents, Whitson added.

Regardless of whether the center moves or not, he said, the department’s equipment would have to be updated.

Corn told the board that there are no upgrades available for the equipment they now use. Service technicians are no longer trained how to repair their system, she said, spurring the need for an out-of-town specialist when their equipment fails.

New minimum operating standards will also be coming down the pipe from the North Carolina 911 Board in 2014, Corn told the commissioners, and those standards may require some upgrades.

In February 2011, GeoComm Consulting was retained to develop a local Public Safety relocation plan that would help guide the move of the 911 center from its current location to the new law enforcement center.

GeoComm calculated the move would cost about $1,689,080, with $977,000 eligible from state 911 funding and the county responsible for $712,080. The center receives funding from the county and the state. For fiscal year 2014, the state 911 board has allocated $527,426 for the local E911 center.

The 20,000-square-foot basement of the Sheriff’s Office will offer more than enough room for the call center’s move and upgrade to 4,200 square feet.

Corn said she was “very pleased” with the board’s action approving the center’s move.

“We felt like we had been in limbo for a little while,” she said.

Corn added that they are happy their equipment will be installed without interrupting service.

“It would be very hard to keep using the equipment here while we replaced it,” she said. “We can’t just turn off 911 calls.”

Sheriff focuses on service

Sheriff Charlie McDonald said his department has adopted new values, mission and vision statements to better serve and protect the county’s citizenry. Highlighting specific goals to improve the department and crime-fighting efforts, he asked for more officers, vehicles and telecommunicators.

One of the department’s goals, he said, is to form a crime team aimed specifically at reducing the rising number of residential break-ins the county continues to see.

“We have a goal to do that by February of 2014,” he said, with a directed enforcement unit of four officers and a crime analyst. “Residential B&Es are running just short of 600 a year over the last three years.”

A lack of time and resources, he added, prevents them from going after cases the way officers would like to. Investigators are working close to 200 cases of property crimes a year, according to McDonald.

The sheriff said they are working on developing a computer database for crime-mapping to “see where our trouble spots are” and to “help our resources.”

“To do that, it will take four deputies. It will take four vehicles,” he said, adding that they need vehicles that are not “your run-of-the-mill unmarked cars.”

McDonald said the department has a person in-house who can serve as crime analyst for the team. The crime-mapping software was purchased with the help of money seized from drug dealers.

McDonald is also hoping to fill a position lost in the Criminal Investigations Division when the force fell victim to a 7.5 percent budget cut years ago.

There is a lot of concern among the general public over school shootings, McDonald said. He added that he would like to implement an “Adopt-a-School” program, “tasking officers to take ownership of specific schools.”

“We could use a couple of more SROs (student resource officers) to coordinate these officers,” he told the board.

Before the six-hour retreat ended, Commissioner Michael Edney said he would like to see funding in the budget to cover the department’s needs.

<p>Henderson County commissioners threw a lifeline to an outdated 911 center and heard an appeal from the sheriff for additional staff during their budget retreat Wednesday afternoon.</p><p>The board voted unanimously to proceed with hiring an architect to design a new emergency call center in the basement of the Sheriff's Office.</p><p>Workers in the county's call center, at 100 N. Grove St., contend with cracks and leaks and diminished security at the building while working with equipment past its prime, according to E911 Communications Director Lisha Corn.</p><p>The center has operated in the building for 16 years. At one time, its parking area was protected by a tall fence, she said, but now the lot is open to the public, raising safety concerns for staff. A disgruntled caller came to the lot around 3 a.m. one morning hoping to confront a telecommunicator, but was greeted by a deputy.</p><p>Corn said they also have issues with a door that sometimes fails to close and lock properly. </p><p>The department, which annually fields more than 199,000 calls and dispatches more than 124,000 calls for services, is manned by 19 employees in rotating 12-hour shifts. It currently operates in about 2,700 square feet.</p><p>David Whitson, assistant county manager, said the center is operating at “full capacity” with no room for growth in its current location. Additional personnel and workstations will be needed to meet state 911 Board requirements, he said, for call taking and dispatching efficiency.</p><p>E911 Management needs additional space in the Emergency Operations Center for training purposes and in order to more efficiently handle emergency incidents, Whitson added.</p><p>Regardless of whether the center moves or not, he said, the department's equipment would have to be updated.</p><p>Corn told the board that there are no upgrades available for the equipment they now use. Service technicians are no longer trained how to repair their system, she said, spurring the need for an out-of-town specialist when their equipment fails.</p><p>New minimum operating standards will also be coming down the pipe from the North Carolina 911 Board in 2014, Corn told the commissioners, and those standards may require some upgrades.</p><p>In February 2011, GeoComm Consulting was retained to develop a local Public Safety relocation plan that would help guide the move of the 911 center from its current location to the new law enforcement center.</p><p>GeoComm calculated the move would cost about $1,689,080, with $977,000 eligible from state 911 funding and the county responsible for $712,080. The center receives funding from the county and the state. For fiscal year 2014, the state 911 board has allocated $527,426 for the local E911 center. </p><p>The 20,000-square-foot basement of the Sheriff's Office will offer more than enough room for the call center's move and upgrade to 4,200 square feet.</p><p>Corn said she was “very pleased” with the board's action approving the center's move. </p><p>“We felt like we had been in limbo for a little while,” she said.</p><p>Corn added that they are happy their equipment will be installed without interrupting service. </p><p>“It would be very hard to keep using the equipment here while we replaced it,” she said. “We can't just turn off 911 calls.”</p><p><b>Sheriff focuses on service</b></p><p>Sheriff Charlie McDonald said his department has adopted new values, mission and vision statements to better serve and protect the county's citizenry. Highlighting specific goals to improve the department and crime-fighting efforts, he asked for more officers, vehicles and telecommunicators.</p><p>One of the department's goals, he said, is to form a crime team aimed specifically at reducing the rising number of residential break-ins the county continues to see. </p><p>“We have a goal to do that by February of 2014,” he said, with a directed enforcement unit of four officers and a crime analyst. “Residential B&Es are running just short of 600 a year over the last three years.”</p><p>A lack of time and resources, he added, prevents them from going after cases the way officers would like to. Investigators are working close to 200 cases of property crimes a year, according to McDonald.</p><p>The sheriff said they are working on developing a computer database for crime-mapping to “see where our trouble spots are” and to “help our resources.” </p><p>“To do that, it will take four deputies. It will take four vehicles,” he said, adding that they need vehicles that are not “your run-of-the-mill unmarked cars.”</p><p>McDonald said the department has a person in-house who can serve as crime analyst for the team. The crime-mapping software was purchased with the help of money seized from drug dealers.</p><p>McDonald is also hoping to fill a position lost in the Criminal Investigations Division when the force fell victim to a 7.5 percent budget cut years ago.</p><p>There is a lot of concern among the general public over school shootings, McDonald said. He added that he would like to implement an “Adopt-a-School” program, “tasking officers to take ownership of specific schools.”</p><p>“We could use a couple of more SROs (student resource officers) to coordinate these officers,” he told the board.</p><p>Before the six-hour retreat ended, Commissioner Michael Edney said he would like to see funding in the budget to cover the department's needs.</p><p>Reach Weaver at emily.weaver@blueridgenow.com or 828-694-7867.</p>